Fortunate Son (gen; Jake-centric)

[Ashen Key]

TITLE: Fortunate Son
CHARACTERS: Jake-centric, with mentions of the rest of the cast and Tommy.
WORDS: 3161
RATING: PG? M?
A/N: I've always struggled a bit with Jake's character, but I realized a couple months ago that a lot of his reactions could make sense if he has ADHD (I came to this idea as I have ADD myself). I sat down to type a short little ficlet, and then when I looked up it was several hours later, and I had over 3000 words. So, I thought I might share. There may be a part two, covering more of the movie; it depends on how my muse goes.
Title comes from the Creedence Clearwater song of the same name.

Fortunate Son

Tommy is the smart one. Objectively, this makes no damn sense: you're identical twins, so you should have the same brain. And, you do. Only, Tommy has always been able to makes his work. Always manages to put his head down, do the work, get the grades, get the respect.


After a while, you give up trying to figure out how he manages it.


–


Your parents don't believe in medication. You wonder, sometimes, how a journalist and a member of the diplomatic corps (you are vague on your mother's profession only because she is vague about it with you) know more about psychiatry than actual doctors, but apparently they do. What you get from the sessions is that your brain is wrong, but, well, you could have told the docs that. So, nothing changes, and your grades suck, again, and you sit through another lecture full of disappointed eyes and if you just tried harder, Jake (you don't point out that Tommy works three times harder than any of his classmates: it seems disloyal and, besides, he can hack it) and c'mon, Jake, we know how smart you are, we just hate seeing you wasting your potential and we're only doing this because we love you, and you try not to twist your fingers or jiggle your feet or even move until the lecture is done and you are released.


Then you grab your filter-mask, walk slowly to the front door, shut it behind you, and then you just run.


–


You're good at running. Better then Tommy. Way better than Tommy.


You can live with that.


–


Somehow, you get into college. You – honest to god - have no idea how, and you spend the first week thinking this is all some kind of a practical joke.


–


You flunk engineering in the first semester.


This doesn't surprise you.


–


What does surprise you is that the Marine Corps welcomes you with open arms. You pass the requirements, call your brother ('Jake, what the f*ck? I. Fine, sure, I'll tell the folks for you, but what the f*ck?'), pack your bag, get on the train to Parris Island, and then you are put through the thirteen weeks of pure hell known as bootcamp.


You hate it.


You hate it, and after those thirteen weeks, there is nowhere else you'd rather be.


–


(Your mother goes, ' Yes, Tommy told us, what the hell were you thinking?'


Your father goes, 'You. A Marine,' and that's all he has to say.


Your brother – when he can be assed dragging himself away from his thesis on Pandoran biology – just goes, 'it's good to see you happy'.


You figure one of three for approval is better than nothing.)


–


The brass send you over to Recon – turns out all that being constantly distracted translates pretty damn well into a good situational awareness, and combat just works for you.


It's interesting.


You don't twitch, you don't fidget, you don't feel like you are going to explode if you don't move because sh*t is happening and you have to focus and you can.


–


You get the nickname 'Ozzie' for two reasons. The first is that there is a Moira Sullivan in your squad, and she's already got the nickname 'Sully'. The second is that thanks to being a diplomatic brat with an Australian father, you've spent a large amount of time in Canberra, and still haven't managed to shake off the damn accent. Not completely.


(Tommy's managed to, of course; for once, you don't really care)


–


The other advantage of being in Recon is that no one expects you to kill anyone.


But accidents happen.


–